Recently, authors have asked me
several questions regarding chapters. What is a good word count for a scene?
How many scenes should make up a chapter? When is a chapter considered too
long?

I suspect that the authors who
asked these questions wanted simple answers, but the truth is, the answer lies
within the story itself.

If you are writing a thriller,
the readers will expect quick, rapid-fire action. The author may want to make
his scenes smaller and to place all of the events occurring within a certain
time frame within one chapter. Several quick scenes equal a larger chapter.

In formulaic romance, a guideline
to use would be to give the hero and heroine each a scene in the chapter.
Notice, however, that I very carefully used the word guideline rather than rule. Some factors within a romance might
make it necessary for a scene to have one or maybe even three or four scenes.
Imagine a scene between the hero and heroine where the conflict is very
intense. The scene is probably going to be a little longer than usual, and since
the hero and heroine are together and the scene should be powerful enough to
carry itself, then the one scene will do. Suppose your hero and heroine are in
different places at the same time. In that case, the two scenes per chapter guideline
might apply. But let’s throw in romantic suspense. What happens when the
villain comes into play? If he needs a scene, one of two things might occur: 1)
the villain may have a scene within the chapter or 2) the villain’s scene might
be used as a chapter in itself to add emphasis to his or her villainy.

Another matter to consider with
regard to the length of a scene or a chapter is actually psychological. If an
author has written a riveting scene, the length doesn’t matter. However, let
that scene drag, even the least bit, and the author will lose his audience. A few issues to consider when working on scene and
chapter structure are:

1.Does
each scene and chapter have a satisfying beginning, middle, and ending?

2.Is
each word used in the scene or chapter necessary?

3.Does
a particular scene need emphasis for the reader? In other words, does it need
to stand out? If so, make that scene a chapter in itself.

4.Does
each scene move the story forward? In order to determine this, an author must
look at each scene as a building block in his masterpiece. Every scene must lock
the one before it in place. Likewise, each chapter must lock the previous
chapter in place. No meandering allowed.

So when self-editing, work hard
to eliminate anything that is not necessary to the story as a whole. This will help you craft tighter scenes and riveting chapters. Remember to write each scene so
that the reader is left wanting more.

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wants.Can you do it?In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask
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Stop! Back Away from the
Exclamation Point! Yes, it’s a point of contention with me. I get aggravated
over exclamation points. I never much liked this punctuation mark. I think it’s
my least favorite unless you count an improper use of the semicolons. Now,
properly used semicolons are a great form of style; they must be used correctly, though.

The same is true with the
exclamation point.

Why, you might ask, do I have a
problem with a seemingly harmless line with a dot at the bottom? Very simply:
the exclamation point is a mark of punctuation that indicates your character is
yelling, screaming, squealing, angry, scared to death, and a few other
instances where talking loudly might be the norm. For example, if I’m in a car
on a two-lane highway, and a semi-truck has crossed the line over into my lane,
I’m not going to whisper, “Look out.” No, extreme fear is going to take over,
and the scream will come from the brain, traveling through my nervous system
and explode from my mouth. “Look out!”

Unless my character is a hyped-up
annoying teenager, conversations, no matter how exciting, do not contain
screaming or yelling. If my character is excited about something, they aren’t
going to be screaming, “I can’t believe it! We’re going to the mall!” Likewise,
it is a very rare occasion when I have an inner thought that makes me scream at
myself. An exception to this rule might be when I hit my thumb with a hammer.
Yeah, then I might be screaming a little at my stupidity.

When exclamations are peppered
throughout a manuscript, the story wears out the reader. They might feel as if
they’ve been called into the boss’s office for something akin to blowing up the
chemical lab at work. All the yelling and screaming gives your readers headaches.

When self-editing your work, look
for areas where exclamation points are unnecessary. With very few exceptions,
one or two exclamation points in a manuscript will do. I will admit that as an
author, I did have an editor argue with me over a scene in one of my works. She
claimed that a mother cheering her son on during his Little League game did
call for an exclamation mark. Of course, she was right.

There are other circumstances
where a character may be prone to yelling what they say. I’ve encountered that
situation in a recently edited book. The child was autistic and sometimes
excitable. Not to include exclamation points in most of his conversations would
take away from the character.

The point that is being made here is to use exclamations sparingly and
for emphasis. By the way, using all such punctuation (semicolons, colons, em
dashes, and ellipses) sparingly and for emphasis is the mark of style. Overuse
of any of the above, a mark of rejection.

Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.It means writing what the publisher
wants.Can you do it?In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask
you to create a story with these elements.The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our
guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.RiceAn eagle$25.00

As we're getting into the new year's groove, it's time to start thinking about Christmas! Get clicking on those keyboards dear writers. Our 2013 Christmas Extravaganza is on the way.

Pelican Book Group is seeking manuscripts to fill a special 2013 holiday
release extravaganza. We are currently seeking novelette to novella
length stories (between 15,000 and 25,000 words) to fill twenty-four
special slots. Stories may fit either the White Rose Publishing
(romance) or the Harbourlight Books (general fiction) imprint, but must
have a Christmas theme. Submissions must be received on or before 1 May
2013.

Stories must be Christian fiction, may be contemporary or historical,
and may fall under any subgenre (e.g. romantic suspense, sci-fi,) To
submit, please use the submission form found on our website. (
http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/submission-form ) Be sure to include:
CHRISTMAS SUBMISSION in the additional notes section.

For more information about White Rose Publishing and Harbourlight Books
please visit our website at http://www.pelicanbookgroup.com or read some
of our titles. Our books are available local and online retailers such
as Amazon, ARe, Apple, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors, Sony.

I recommend giving yourself some space before looking at it again, if time permits. A couple of weeks’ worth, at least. Clear your head. Read a novel. Write something else, or plan your next book. Then, when it’s time to work through the edits, here are three elements you won’t want to leave unaddressed:

Unanswered questions: If you ask a story-related question anywhere in the story (a question for readers to ponder, not a question in dialogue), make sure you answer it by story’s end. Of course, this includes the story question.

Unresolved threads: Whether you plot everything ahead or your write as you go, you’ll have various threads that weave through your story. As you’re editing your rough draft, be sure you tie up those threads. Writing is all about the reader, so one of an author’s goals is to satisfy the reader. They’ve invested in your characters and your story, satisfy them by tying up loose threads. That’s not to say you have to “dot every i,” but be sure that if you leave an unanswered question/unresolved thread in the reader’s mind, it was intentional, (i.e. for readers to ponder once they’ve finished the novel), and that the story is better for that choice to leave that thread unresolved. Here’s what I do: make notes as you’re reading the rough draft to follow (focus on) your threads all the way through the story. You might even go through the manuscript and specifically highlight every line, paragraph, or scene that relates with each thread so you can follow their individual arcs.

Unechoed themes: Recently, I was working on my own project and discovered a theme in chapter one that I didn’t recall echoing enough later in the story. Books are more satisfying when the themes echo throughout. What do I mean by “echoing themes?” Writers can revisit themes in many different ways, including symbolism, via repetition and/or contrast in other characters, etc. The key is to ensure your themes reappear and therefore have greater impact.

Your turn: what other areas need to be answered, resolved, or echoed in your final draft?

Writing to spec – you’ve heard the term.It means writing what the publisher
wants.Can you do it?In our new feature - Make-A-Story™, we ask
you to create a story with these elements.The story can be set in any time frame, any length, must adhere to our
guidelines and have our standard Christian world view.A hard-boiled eggA barking dogA dollar bill